


The Last Dance

by lokidyinginside



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 1940s, Bar, Bucky Barnes Lives, Dancing, Everyone Has Issues, F/M, Feels, First Love, Flashbacks, Lost Love, Love never dies, Memories, Minor Original Character(s), POV Peggy Carter, POV Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter Lives, Post-Captain America: The First Avenger, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Avengers (2012), Slow Dancing, The Author is Crying, The Watering Hole, Time Skips, World War II, a little closure, all the feels, i need a tissue, peggy will always be steve's best girl, their last dance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-07 20:45:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14679168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokidyinginside/pseuds/lokidyinginside
Summary: They both showed up.





	The Last Dance

The sparkling orbs in the night sky were dimmed by the bright lights of the city. Peggy Carter usually found the stars to be a comforting thing, but today they merely reminded her of what she had lost.

They were a constant in her ever-changing life, her happy place. Whenever her job in the army moved her around the country or she had lost someone she loved or cared for, they were always there. They never left.

Today, though, they weren't of much help. She was still filled by the overwhelming grief of a lost love; of Captain Steven Grant Rogers. The man that swooped in and stolen her heart. He had been her hero, as she had been his best girl.

Steve had made the hard choice of sacrificing himself to save the large population of New York City. He probably could have found another way. A way that not only saved the city but himself too.

But with the little time he had, he had decided that this truly was the best way. She had urged him not to, but Steve wasn't known for his stubbornness for nothing.

This was all still fresh in her mind, as it had all happened less than forty-eight hours ago. His last words to her were still ringing in her mind.

She had sat at the console for quite a while, waiting to hear from him from the plane. She had waited to hear that he had been successful and was okay. She had waited to hear he was coming home to her. But, alas, that was not what happened.

From the second he had first spoken to her over the radio, she could hear it in his voice. He didn't even have to say a single word. She just knew. It was tone in his voice that told her that he wasn't coming home. That told her that they would never see each other again and that they were saying goodbye for the last time. She knew he wouldn’t survive.

But she couldn't bring herself to actually say goodbye; to actually admit that she was going to lose the man that she had fallen in love with long before he had become a super soldier. And neither could he. So, instead, they had made plans to meet up at the Stork Hole for a dance that they would never have and exchanged 'i love you's over the static of the radio.

They had spent his last moments talking with each other through the radio, as a stream of tears had flooded down her lovely face. It had taken everything she had not to break down right then and there, but she held it together. For him.

She didn't want to lose him, but she knew it was inevitable. There was no other way to save the city and, even if there was, there was no way she could get him to change his mind. He was by far the most stubborn person she had ever met. She knew that and she only loved him more for it.

The next thing she knew, the radio cut off and was replaced by a soft static noise. There were no more words from his end, only the deadening radio silence that slowly killed her from the inside out. He was gone. Dead.

His death had hit her hard. She had found herself falling victim to her emotions and heartbreak. He was the first man that she had truly fallen madly in love with and she lost him.

Up until that point, Peggy had done a pretty good job hiding behind a facade of strength and power and keeping her feelings bottled up, But his death had broken her, ripped her truly fragile heart from her chest and crushed it into a million pieces. It overwhelmed her.

She had spent every waking moment since then trying to pull herself back together and putting up a good front. She prayed that he had at least found peace.

But now sitting on a bench outside of the very place they had agreed to meet up at, she could feel herself falling apart once more, but she wouldn't leave. No. She couldn't leave. She couldn't break her promise to him, even if he himself couldn't be there.

Her knuckles were white from gripping tightly onto her handbag, as she took deep breaths. She thought that if she could clear her mind then maybe it would make this entire thing a little bit easier.

After a few moments of deep breaths and positive thoughts, she had finally mustered together enough courage and self control to enter the building. She pulled herself to her feet, as her hands smoothed down the skin-tight scarlet dress that hugged her figure, removing as many wrinkles as possible.

She began to make her way inside, her heels clomping against the concrete ground. When she stepped inside of the club, Peggy was greeted by beautiful, brights lights and loud, upbeat music. They seemed to represent the exact opposite of how she felt in that moment, the way she should have been feeling.

She took a moment to scan her surroundings. She had been on the club enough times, but something seemed off. Something was missing, or someone.

She continued on and slipped through the endless crowd of people until she came to the bar. She lifted herself up onto one of the stools and placed her bag in front of her on the wooden surface.

"Evenin' ma'am," The bartender was almost immediately standing across from her, "What can I get for ya?"

A familiar heavy Brooklyn accent plagued his words. It sent Peggy back to the time when she was escorting a tiny, scrawny Steve Rogers to the lab. The same accent had masked his words, as well.

It was a happy memory, one she was glad to have. Though she was only just now realizing that that had been the exact moment when she had first started falling for the man.

"Just a glass of water, for now, thank you," He nodded as he worked to get her drink, which he quickly handed over to her. She offered him a smile as she took the sweaty glass into her hand.

As she began to sip the drink, she found her eyes wandering over to the crowd on the dance floor. She kept her eyes on the people that were dancing in pairs, the way she and Steve would have.

Oh, what could’ve been.

She imagined herself out there with Steve on her arm, trying to teach him a simple dance. She imagined that he would’ve stepped on her more times than she could count and Steve getting all flustered and embarrassed. She would’ve ignored it and just kept moving in the rhythm with the music.

The thought of it made her smile.

If only.

If only he had survived.

If only he had showed up.

If only they had gotten to dance.

If only they had gotten their happily ever after.

Life would’ve been absolutely perfect.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to see a charming, young man smiling back at her.

"What’s a pretty lass like yourself sitting here all alone?"

"I just don’t have the right partner," She told the man.

It was true, after all. She didn’t. Her right partner was currently submerged somewhere in the Artic, lost forever.

"Well, then, ma'am. Would you do the pleasure of accompanying me to a dance?" The man looked hopeful and a bit nervous. His hand was outstretched in front of him, waiting to see if she would take it and turn away.

"I guess one little dance won't hurt anything," A weight seemed to have been lifted off the man's shoulders.

Peggy placed her glass back down on the bar before reaching out to take the man's hand. He then led her out to the dance floor. He took one of her hands into his own, as his other snaked around her waist.

"May I ask you your name, Miss?"

"Peggy."

"Well, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Peggy. Mine's William."

 

Peggy closed her eyes and sighed softly. She may have been dancing with William, but in her mind, she imagined it was Steve that was holding her close and swaying to the music with her.

For no matter what happened, the super soldier would always hold a place in her heart.


End file.
